Friend of first Israeli victim of Gaza war: 'Dror was one of a kind'

A friend of Dror Khanin, the first Israeli to be killed in the current Gaza
conflict, has told The Telegraph he "only wanted to help people"

Smoke billowing from the coastal Palestinian enclave following an Israeli air strike on Wednesday- so far, over 1,230 rockets have been launched at Israel from GazaPhoto: Getty

By Inna Lazareva, Tel Aviv

6:00PM BST 16 Jul 2014

Family and friends of Israel's first victim of deadly rocket fire from Gaza in the current round of fighting gathered together on Wednesday afternoon to pay their last respects.

Less than 24 hours earlier, Dror Khanin, 37, from the West Bank settlement town of Beit Aryeh, set off for the first time for the Israel-Gaza border as a volunteer to distribute food packages to the Israeli soldiers stationed there.

Seconds after parking the car near the border, rockets fired from Gaza started crashing down in the vicinity.

Crouching close to a wall, Mr Khanin was hit directly by shrapnel from a mortar shell.

The accompanying security officer, Sharron Alfasi, who was taking shelter in the car, ran over to Mr Khanin as he collapsed. He was later pronounced dead at a nearby hospital.

One of his close friends, Eldar Koren, 37 and also from Beit Aryeh, spoke of the high regard in which Mr Khanin was held by others in his community.

"Dror is one of a kind – there's no one like him. He is always giving to others. The only thing he wanted to do is to help other people," he told The Telegraph.

"It's very sad here. The whole town is in shock. Everyone knows everyone here."

Mr Khanin had been collecting food parcels for the Israeli soldiers stationed at the Israel-Gaza border every evening after work for the past three days. The night before, he was up until 1am with his children making up the bags for the soldiers, said Mr Koren.

"He called up all the local businesses, collected all the donations. He was so excited to go there," he said.

Mr Khanin is survived by his wife and three children – aged 10, six and nine months. He was the first victim of direct rocket fire from Gaza, on the day that a tentative ceasefire agreement was rejected by Hamas.

Since the military operation began on July 7, two other Israelis have died from heart attacks induced by the panic at hearing the siren, and over 15 others have been injured by falling shrapnel.

On Wednesday, a piece of shrapnel crashed through the window of a Tel Aviv apartment. The residents were in the safe room and there were no injuries.

So far, over 1,230 rockets have been launched at Israel from Gaza. Of these, those rockets heading for population centres have so far been successfully intercepted by Israel's Iron Dome defence system.

The news of the Israeli fatality comes as the death toll in Gaza keeps rising. So far, just under 200 people have been killed in the Hamas-held enclave.

"One out of every five people killed in Gaza since the escalation of violence is a child," said Save The Children.

"At least 149 of 194 people killed in Gaza have been civilians, 38 of whom were children." The charity added that the numbers of dead, injured and displaced are increasing.